Saturday, November 03, 2001
Miami goes for 7th win in row
Bowling Green defense, 5th in nation, stands in way
By Ian Duthie
Enquirer contributor
OXFORD — Miami coaches and players alike describe every Mid-American Conference East matchup as a championship game. They know that any loss in divisional play means their ultimate goal of playing in the conference championship game is all but done.
“We know the importance of every game,” coach Terry
Hoeppner said. “You can't look past anybody and expect to beat them. Every game is as important as the one before it and the one after it.”
Since the MAC is unbalanced with seven teams in the East and six in the West, only divisional records will be used to determine the respective champions. Therefore, any divisional loss seems like two losses, because the winning team will hold the head-to-head tiebreaker, which will be used to determine who will play in the conference championship game in case of a tie.
The RedHawks (6-2, 5-0 MAC) have rattled off six straight wins since opening the season with two road losses to Michigan and Iowa of the Big Ten.
This is Miami's longest winning streak since finishing the 1998 season. That team won seven straight and finished 10-1. The one loss was to Marshall, whichalso finished 10-1, but because of the victory over Miami, Marshall won the East, sending the Thundering Herd to the title game then on to the Motor City Bowl.
Included in this streak are three wins over East opponents, which put Miami in a first-place tie with Marshall atop the East with three divisional games left. “We like where we stand,” Hoeppner said. “With every week, we get closer to where we want to be (a MAC championship). Every game is a championship game to put us at that point.”
Today the RedHawks visit East foe Bowling Green, , which, with only one loss in the East, sits right behind Miami and Marshall in the standings.
Bowling Green has had two weeks to prepare for the game after a bye week, and first-year coach Urban Meyer knows the difficulties Miami presents.
“(Miami) is probably the most balanced team we have seen,” Meyer said. “As a coach, you try to identify and take advantage of weaknesses of a football team, and it is very hard to find a weakness on this Miami team.”
Miami is coming off a 25-11 victory over Western Michigan, in which starting quarterback Ben Roethlisberger played through a hip problem that forced him to the hospital the night before the game. Miami's defense and special teams stepped up their play after a rare poor performance from Miami's high-powered, spread offense. Good punt coverage directly led to a safety and a touchdown scored by the defense.
The Bowling Green defense ranks first in the MAC (fifth in the nation) in rushing defense, allowing only 62.7 yards a game. Miami comes into the game averaging 151.8 yards on the ground, ninth in the MAC.
The Falcons lead the league in scoring defense at 18.3 ppg; Miami ranks fourth in scoring offense with 25.4 ppg.
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Miami goes for 7th win in row
